With good intentions to support the fight against infectious diseases in Ghana, the Ghana Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists (GAMLS) has made a release as captured below.
The Ghana Health Service has reported three (3) cases of Marburg Virus Disease (MVD) as of 4th
July 2022. In all, 198 contacts were identified, isolated, and managed. It is the first of its kind to be
recorded in the Country. The speed with which the cases were identified, diagnosed, treated, and managed
by the Ghana Health Service, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, and the professionals
including Medical Laboratory Scientists is worth commending.
The risk of this infectious disease is heightened further because of its occurrence with global COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ghana Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists (GAMLS) is urgently calling on the government
to take advantage of the perceived controlled state of the Marburg virus disease to strategically improve
the capacity of some COVID-19 testing laboratories across the various zones/belts of the country. This will
help to promptly test to identify cases and initiate the processes involved in preventing and controlling
such infectious diseases.
GAMLS has undertaken risk and needs assessment of the various laboratories that were developed to test
for COVID-19. In the view of the professional body, such capacity building is the best way to be
prepared to handle the Marburg virus disease, the outbreak of Monkeypox, and other infectious diseases that
are lurking around our neighbouring countries or may face us in the near future.
We encourage Ghanaians to observe the preventive measures and respond positively to precautions
outlined by the disease surveillance unit of the GHS to report all illnesses to the nearest health facility.
They should be assured that Medical Laboratory Professionals are ready to devote themselves to serve
as was seen with the management of the COVID-19 pandemic with the provided resources.